Timberline buys Summit Ski Area; Mount Hood gondola on the way?

The operator of Timberline Lodge has purchased a small ski area in Government Camp, expanding its downhill recreation offerings and setting the stage for an aerial connection between the two properties.

R.L.K. and Company, which operates Timberline Lodge and the adjacent ski slopes, has purchased nearby Summit Ski Area — the single-chairlift operation that sits just off U.S. 26 in Government Camp. The move will result in improvements to Summit’s modest lodge and includes the Snow Bunny play area and parking lot east of Government Camp.

But more exciting, perhaps, is the prospect of an aerial connection between Summit and Timberline, whose lodge sits at 6,000 feet on Mount Hood.

John Burton, Timberline spokesman, said Timberline is looking into adding a chairlift or gondola that spans the two properties. Two obvious destinations that come to mind are the bottom of Timberline’s Jeff Flood Express chairlift, which is currently the resort’s lowest-reaching lift, or Timberline Lodge itself.

“Does it just go to Flood or do we take it all the way to the hotel, you know?” Burton said.

Stephanie Yao Long

Snow at Summit Ski Area on Friday, October 13, 2017.

Of course, the prospect of a Government Camp-Timberline connection far from certain. Putting in a new chairlift is a five- to 10-year project, Burton said, and the first step is an environmental impact study that takes a minimum of two-and-a-half to three years.

But the project is within the realm of possibility, he said, and Timberline wouldn’t need to acquire the land between Summit and Timberline to run a lift connecting the properties.

About a mile of gradual terrain separates the two permit areas, Burton said, and there probably wouldn’t be a need for an extensive trail network if a chairlift were constructed. Two trails already exist, he said, and a third would need to be cut to accommodate the chairlift.

In the short term, Timberline plans to tweak Summit’s name, roll out a new website and make minor upgrades to its lodge, Burton said. He said there’s also talk of expanding shuttle offerings and the Mt. Hood Express, a bus service operated by Clackamas County that stops at Timberline.

“With Portland’s population growing rapidly and more people visiting Mt. Hood, Timberline also views Summit Ski Area as an opportunity to help address public transportation and parking needs while having a greater connectivity to Government Camp,” Timberline said in a news release.

Summit bills itself as the second-oldest continuously operating ski area in the country, and its website lists an adult, all-day lift ticket at $35. Burton said Timberline plans to keep the ski area affordable.